International legal obligations on the right to work

Human Rights and Work

What is the Human Right to Work? What are the Human Rights of Workers?

The Human Right to Work is the human right of all women, men, youth and children to dignified, creative and productive labor, free from discrimination and exploitation, enabling all persons to live in peace, security, justice and dignity. All workers have human rights to basic labor protections. Engagement in any kind of production should be fruitful and rewarding.

The Human Rights at Issue

The human right of all persons to dignified and fulfilling work includes the following universal, indivisible, interconnected and interdependent human rights:

Bill allowing Burmese refugees to work in Malaysia

This article sums up the 2010 debate following the bill allowing Burmese refugees to work in Malaysia.

Right to work for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon

Those who are interested by the law that was passed in Lebanon to allow Palestinian refugees to work, and by an analysis of its limit, will usefully refer to Jillian C. York article and Oussama Hayek blog. For an in depth analysis of the right to work of Palestinian refugees situation in Lebanon, see also Elizabeth Hebert post and Najdeh webpage, an NGO conducting a campaign on the right to work for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon with the support of Christianaid.


Christian Aid's work and Najdeh are campaigning for the right to work

Asylum Access campaign on the right to work for refugees

Asylum Access is an American NGO campaigning, among others, for the right to work of refugees around the world.

UNHCR Interpretation of the notion of 'Lawful stay' (Geneva Convention on Refugee Status)

UNHCR in its note ‘Lawfully staying’-A note on Interpretation' dating from 1988 interprets the notion of the 'lawful stay' of asylum seekers and refugees. The 1951 Geneva Convention on Refugee Status (GCRS) does not use the term asylum seekers but covers them. Lawful stay is a pre-requisite for asylum seekers and/ or refugees to access the rights granted under the conditions of article 17 and 19 GCRS (right to wage-earning and right to exercise a liberal profession). 
Article 18 GCRS does not require asylum seekers to be 'lawfully staying' in the host country, as mere "lawful presence" is required to grant the right to work on asylum seekers and refugees who are self- employed under the conditions of article 18 GCRS.  
One will refer to Pr. Grahl Madsen comments on article 17 to 19 Geneva Convention on Refugee Status for more information on the scope of the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees.

Legal comments on art. 17- 19 Geneva Convention on refugee status, right to work

COMMENTARY ON THE 1951 REFUGEE CONVENTION (GCRS)

(by Professor Atle Grahl-Madsen, 1962-1963)

Professor Grahl- Madsen commentaries will be of great use to lawyers, judges and legal actors who analyse deprivation of the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees in the light of article 17 to 19 of the GCRS. Article 17, 18 and 19 grant the right to work to asylum seekers and refugees when they are 'lawfully present' or 'lawfully staying' in the host country. UNHCR 'Note on 'lawful staying' and the 'Michigan Guidelines on the right to work' contains some elements of definition of the notion of 'lawful stay' and 'lawful presence'. 'Lawful stay' and 'lawful presence' should indeed be understood according to an international definition and not according to national domestic measures. 

Amended version of the EU Reception Conditions Directive (recast)

In the European Union, but for Denmark and Ireland who opted out of the EU Reception Conditions Directive (hereafter RCD), the right to work of asylum seekers (and now persons in need of international protection), is governed by article 11 of the Reception Conditions Directive (see our caselaw section, case of ZO. vs SSHD, UK Supreme Court).

European Court of Human Rigths, MSS V. Greece and Belgium

In the MSS v. Greece case, the European Court of Human Rights replies to the Greeck government and considers that granting in theory and in its domestic law the right to work to asylum seekers, without providing for adequate material reception conditions or support constitutes a breach of human dignity as the European Reception Conditions Directive had to be respected by the Greeck authorities.

Read our summary of the MSS v. Greece case. The parts relating to the right to work of asylum seekers have been highlighted in yellow.

Welfare-to-work reform policy and its consequences on refugees looking for a job

Isabel Shutes published recently in the Journal of Social Policy a research paper ('Welfare-to-Work and the Responsiveness of Employment Providers to the Needs of Refugee') on the consequences of the welfare to work reform policy and its consequences on refugees looking for a job.

STAR Campaign, Students campaigning in the UK

UK, STAR Alliance, Students, campaigning materials

Find relevant and useful campaigning materials (leaflet, pros and cons sheet...) and information on STAR Campaigns, a student campaign in the UK on access to work and education of asylum seekers and refugees.

Some of the videos produced by STAR...

Lebanon campaign on the right to work for Palestinian refugees

To learn more on the legislative changes in Lebanon and right to work campaigns allowing Palestinian refugees to work in Lebanon, see Elizabeth HEBERT blog. 

Palestinians and their right to work in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria

Elizabeth Hebert, in her research paper A protracted conflict: Palestinians and their right to work in Lebanon, analyses the integration of Palestinians refugees in Lebanon, Jordan and Syria. It focuses on access of Palestinian refugees on the labour market in Lebanon and analyses in depth obstacles to their access to the labour market. 

You can find a short summary of Elizabeth Hebert paper extracted from her abstract (source: The Human rights blog):

Welcome to "Work for asylum seekers and refugees"

Welcome to the blog "Work for asylum seekers and refugees". In this blog, we have been collecting documents, caselaw and research papers on the right to work of asylum seekers and refugees.

This blog is a tool to promote the right to work of persons in need of international protection.
We hope that you will find useful material on this blog for your research, preparation of legal or political argumentation.

Do not hesitate to contribute by sending us relevant documents (post a comment after a message after becoming a member).

National programmes facilitating access to the labour market of asylum seekers

The European Union, under the EQUAL funding asylum seekers and refugee line, has financed domestic programmes enhancing access of asylum seekers to the labour market. EQUAL webpage contains both practical activities and political recommendations on access of asylum seekers to the labour market at a European scale.